Today we are going with 2 photos!!!!
The first inspires me to think of how sweet the taste of success is.
They both remind that I'm fighting so that I and all the other warriors fighting with Leukemia can enjoy more days like this one.
To donate to the LLS and help in the fight against Leukemia please visit my official fundraising page at: http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/LA10/bsosax
Well here we are only a few days away from the big race, and it's time for another marathon update. So as we approach the big day I'll be mostly talking logistics for race day.
So quite a few of you have expressed interest in coming to the race. This section is for all of you. First off, the idea of people wanting to come and see me, and cheer for me makes me quite uncomfortable. I'm not normally a fan of the spotlight. That being said it does make me feel a little bit like a rock star and that outweighs the comfort issue. So thank you everyone who has even considered coming even if it turns out that you cannot make it. I think knowing that there's a group of friends and family awaiting my finish will make it infinitely easier to keep going. So barring the off-chance that a giant pre-historic bird swoops down a carries me away to feed on, I will finish the race. Now the logistics of race day.
1) The LA Marathon has put out a spectator guide that covers some of the detail of the race from the viewers standpoint. The link is: http://www.lamarathon.com/event/spectator-guide/
2) The course begins at Dodger stadium, makes it way to downtown, then heads to the Santa Monica Pier via Hollywood and Beverly hills. Here is a link to the course map: http://www.lamarathon.com/event/course-map/ You are more than welcome to come and cheer at any point of the race, however I have been told that it is kind of difficult to see the actual runner you're looking for with the large crowds and I won't be able to stop and chat. Also keep in mind that there will be quite a few people coming to the finish line, so if you do come to the finish line plan for some potential parking challenges. But at the finish line I will be able to stop and chat, so it may be all worth it.
3) The finish Line: At the finish I have been told it works as follows: I finish, then I go into a runners only area where I get a photo, snacks, any medical attention I may need and then I can go to the visitor section (takes about 15 minutes to get through the runners section). The visitor section has areas marked off by the first letter of the runners last name. I will be in the "S" section.
4) Timing: This is the big question. I've been asked a few times how long it will take me to run. Honestly I'm not sure. My longest run of the training was 18 miles and I ran it at about a 10:30/mile pace. If I did that at the marathon I would finish in a little over 4 1/2 hours. However, that 18 miles was over 2 months ago. Since then my body has not been at it's best and I've had to cut all of my runs shorter than planned. With that in mind I am hoping to finish at about 5 hours for the marathon. However I can't guarantee any results as I'm not to sure how my body will respond, it may take me quite a bit longer. The marathon starts at 7:24 am, but seeing as I'm not one of the Kenyans who will be in the front I won't start until sometime closer to 8am. So if I start at 8 am, and I do the marathon in 5 hours, I will finish at 1pm. Your best bet to figure out my finish time is to track my progress on race day. You can actually sign up to get text alerts of when I start and track my progress for free at:
http://www.lamarathon.com/runner-info/race-day-tracking/ Signing up is a 3 part process. You first have to create a username and password and search for me, (Brandon Sosa). I'm the only Brandon Sosa running, but if for some reason another joins, I'm the one from Toluca Lake. Second you have to enter how you want the updates, text or email or both. Third you have to confirm. You'll get a text and/or email with the confirmation code and you enter that code. This needs to be done before Sunday. If you have any problems let me know. I will also have updates on my blog: www.ihaterunningbutihatecancermore.blogspot.com The alerts will come for when I start, hit 10K, 20K, 30K, 40K and finish. The total marathon is just over 42 kilometers so you can gauge my finish time accordingly.
So that is the logistics portion for anyone who is thinking of coming. I've never run or been to a marathon before so I'm not 100% certain of what to expect. If you have any questions or concerns just let me know.
Now to the actual race. Training is now basically done. I shut down the running part of my training with my last run being on March 6th. I've done a bit of cycling since to keep my legs fresh but unfortunately that too has been pretty hard on my body. So now I will probably do one more cycle before Sunday, (nothing major, maybe 20 mins) and am focusing solely on diet, rest and hydration. I went earlier today and bought my nutrition (chocolate and vanilla gu) for the race. I'm putting the finishing touches on the marathon music playlist, thanks for all the suggestions and have asked a friend to make my track of who donated. Now I'm just working through all the minor details. I'll be staying with the team down in santa monica on Saturday and Sunday, so that I wont have to stress to much about my own personal logistics in arriving on time at the race. Thank goodness for that, because I'd hate to show up late to the race I've been training for these past 5+ months. And now it's just the mental preparation. My body isn't going to want to run, and it's going to send me lots and lots of signals accordingly. I am prepping myself for that mentally so I can push on and finish. Having the support of everyone will make that part so much easier. Thank you everyone for your support, I have been truly blown away by it.
So that is it. I think this will likely be my last pre-race marathon update. I will definitely have some post race thoughts to chronicle. Thanks for following along my journey. Please share the link to the blog with anyone who may be interested, intrigued or inspired: www.ihaterunningbutihatecancermore.blogspot.com After all the whole purpose of this is to help and inspire others who are also battling leukemia and the more people who become aware the better. Thank you all so much.
B
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